Funding has been approved for a $550,000 stormwater upgrade designed to help reduce flooding impacts in Maket\u016b.<\/p>\n
The project will see a second culvert installed beneath Maket\u016b Rd and the existing culvert extended to improve water flow through the Otumakoro Stream during heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n
Plans also include strengthening inlet and outlet structures, building a 2.5m shared pathway and installing fish-friendly valves to support the stream environment.<\/p>\n
Western Bay of Plenty District Council\u2019s Projects and Monitoring Committee has committed $368,000 to the project, with the remaining $182,000 being funded by the Maket\u016b Community Board.<\/p>\n
The existing culvert near Spencer Ave West has long been identified as a bottleneck in the stormwater network.<\/p>\n
The council said it had previously restricted the amount of water able to pass through during significant rain events.<\/p>\n
The upgrade is expected to lower upstream water levels during storms, reduce flooding affecting nearby properties and lessen the frequency of road closures caused by overtopping on Maket\u016b Rd.<\/p>\n
Maket\u016b-Te Puke ward councillor Shane Beech said this was a project the Maket\u016b community had been advocating for over a number of years.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pleased to be able to move it forward,\u201d Beech said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe upgrade won\u2019t eliminate flooding across the wider Maket\u016b area, but it will improve the capacity of the stream crossing, and reduce pressure on the network during heavy rainfall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Council director of transportation Calum McLean said the project balanced community expectations with infrastructure priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project provides clear benefits for the local area and is the strongest infrastructure options available.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said while it wasn\u2019t a complete solution to flood risk across the Maket\u016b floodplain, it was a \u201cworthwhile investment\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat will improve the performance of existing infrastructure and deliver environmental benefits at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key features of the project include a new 850mm concrete culvert alongside the existing 900mm culvert, reinforced concrete inlet and outlet structures, fish-friendly flap valves and a new 2.5m shared pathway.<\/p>\n
Tangata whenua will be re-engaged before construction begins, and nearby residents and stakeholders will be advised ahead of any works.<\/p>\n
Project planning and procurement will now begin, with construction timing yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Funding has been approved for a $550,000 stormwater upgrade designed to help reduce flooding impacts in Maket\u016b. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583369,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[273,111,139,69,147],"class_list":["post-583368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}